In tune with high prices of tomatoes, the cost of onions has also now gone up and hit the Rs 80 mark per kilogram in national capital's retail markets due to shortage in supply, while a similar spike has also been noticed in other cities as well, according to trade data.

In
other metro cities, onions are being sold at Rs 50-70 per kg,
depending on the quality and locality, as per the data.

In
Focus

Earlier
this year, the prices of tomatoes had touched Rs 100 for a kilogram
in retail markets, and now the prices of onions have followed suit
almost ensuring that the vegetable remains out of reach of the poor
and middle-class households.

At Delhi's Azadpur mandi, which
is Asia's largest vegetable market, the wholesale prices of onions
are hovering between Rs 50-60 per kg, while it has registered a high
of Rs 80 per kg in the retail market, a trader said.

According
to traders, wholesale and retail prices of onions have reportedly
skyrocketed to such levels because of lower supply from the key onion
producing states, such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya
Pradesh.

Nashik's Lasalgoan mandi - Asia's biggest market for
onion, from where the vegetable is transported to many places across
India as well as exported to many countries of the world, has
recently faced lower arrival of onions.

According to the
report, the arrival of onions from Maharashtra's Nashik mandi has
dropped by 47 per cent.

Currently, onions are being sold at Rs
33 per kg in Lasalgoan mandi as against Rs 7.50 per kg a year ago, as
per the data maintained by the Nasik-based National Horticultural
Research and Development Foundation (NHRDF).

"We have taken
several measures, such as procurement by agencies from areas such as
Nashik (Maharashtra) and Alwar (Rajasthan) where the cost is lower,
as well as import of onions. But it (bringing down prices) is not in
our hands," Paswan told reporters.